Our favorite London, Ontario restaurant has always been David’s Bistro. Well, it looks like they will have a little competition in town. We paid or second visit to The Springs Restaurant on Springbank Drive last weekend and had an excellent meal. Our first visit was attending the 2011 Christmas party for another wonderful client of our’s, atWork Office Furniture. The dishes were so outstanding that night, we made note to return as soon as we could. It took a little longer than planned as apparently, the word got out about the culinary magic that was going on at this establishment. Reservations were a little difficult to come by. One thing I really like about this restaurant is the location. Living in Lambeth, it’s nice to not have to make the trek downtown and hunt for parking. There’s much less congestion on Springbank and The Springs has plenty of parking.
As mentioned, the food at The Springs is simply exceptional. I often find that some of the best things on a restaurant menu are the appetizers. Not to mention, ordering a few different dishes “tapas” style and sharing is always kind of fun. We decided to start out with Sauteed Escargots and the Braised Rabbit and Roasted Pear Arancini. Both were delicious – especially the rabbit. The crispy risotto ball preparation kept the rabbit meat inside tender and succulent and the artisan Quebec cheese sauce was the perfect accompaniment. Next, we both had the Caramelized Onion Soup Gratin. The thick and flavourful broth was excellent and had an interesting sweetness to it that we both enjoyed. And finally, we ordered the Wildwood Greens Duck Salad and the Wild Mushroom, Chorizo and Caramelized Shallot Tart. Once again, we were not disappointed. Both dishes looked great and tasted even better. We had planned to order dessert too, thinking that the three appetizers may not be overly filling (often the case at gourmet restaurants). Boy, were we wrong. The portions were very generous and left us quite full and content. Overall, a great evening. And I should mention, the decor is very classy, yet comfortable and the servers are friendly, while professional and unobtrusive. The Springs really have everything figured out.
Such a great restaurant deserves a great website. With our love of food and fine dining, that would be one web development project we could sink our teeth into (hint, hint). For now, back to the cage.
